The Glory Of God

Introduction

The glory of God is a very wide and deep topic. The glory of God isn’t just one thing but several things that point to, reflect and manifest the beauty, power, presence and majesty of God. For example, Hebrews 1:3 tells us that the Son is the radiance of God’s glory. Jesus Christ perfectly mirrors, expresses and reveals the glory of God. Jesus is the glory of God.

In Exodus 40:34-35, we are told of how the glory of God filled the whole tabernacle and Moses could not enter the temple to minister because the glory of God that came down that day was so mighty. The glory of God in this instance was a mighty manifestation of the presence of God. The presence of God is the glory of God.

Psalm 19:1 shows us another dimension of the glory of God. That passage tells us of how the heaven declares the glory of God, the skies proclaim the works of His hands. The beauty of heaven is an expression of the glory of God. God’s work of creation like the sky, the moon, the stars, the depths of the earth, the mountain peaks, the vast and spacious sea, butterflies and other large and small animals, various plants with their bright, wonderful colours and designs all show forth the glory of God (Psalm 95:3-5, Psalm 104:24-25, Psalm 8:1, 3-4). The glory of God is seen all around us through nature and the beautiful things God has created. God’s creativity is the glory of God.

From Exodus 16:1-7 we see that when God performs a miracle, the glory of God has been made manifest. When the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron that they had brought them out of Egypt to the desert to starve, God said he would rain down bread from heaven. Moses told the people in the morning you would see the glory of God because God has heard their grumbling. In verse 10 the glory of God appeared in the cloud and in the evening of that same day, what followed was miraculous provision of quail to eat (Exodus 16:10-16). God’s miracle working power is the glory of God.

THE WORKS OF GOD’S HANDS AND THE GLORY OF GOD

We can’t in one day talk about Jesus Christ, the presence of God, the works of God’s hands, God’s creativity, and the miracle working power of God. So, today we will be focusing on the glory of God as revealed in the works of God’s hands. Our text for this sermon is John 9:1-12.

The first thing we learn from this passage is that:

1. THERE IS A PAIN TO ENDURE, A SUFFERING TO UNDERGO TO EXPERIENCE THE GLORY OF GOD

In John 9:1-3, when Jesus and His disciples came across a man that had been blind from birth, the disciples asked Jesus was it because of a sin the man committed or a sin committed by his parents that this man was blind, that this man was suffering? Jesus answered them by saying ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.’ The works of God is the glory of God. Romans 8:18 tells us of a suffering that comes before the manifestation of the glory of God. Jesus went through His own share of suffering before He experienced the glory of God. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that for the joy, for the glory that was set before Him, Jesus endured the pain and suffering of being insulted, humiliated and ridiculed, Jesus endured the pain of dying on the cross.

Please note that I am not saying that every suffering is from God. But if you place God before you and focus on God, whether your suffering is caused by your sin and carelessness, or by satanic attack or God allowed it into your life as a test or trial, God will bring glory out of suffering for you.

In the case of the blind man in our text today, what was the pain and suffering he had to endure before the works of God or glory of God was revealed in his life.

• He went through the pain and suffering of a long standing problem – The problem of this man started when he was born. Now, he was a fully grown man, not a child, not a teenager, not a youth, and the problem was still in his life. The man had been battling with this problem for years. The blind man knew the pain and suffering of entering into a New Year and the same problem you faced last year is staring you in the face in another year. The same thing you prayed about all through last year is the same thing you are praying about in the New Year. But when the glory of God was revealed in his life, the long standing problem was taken away from him. May the glory of God manifest in your life and remove every long standing yoke, sickness or problem that you have been battling with for years.